Forget Rio, it's carnival time in the Seychelles

Now in its fourth year, the International Carnival Seychelles has started to attract a slew of international visitors.

Over 1,500 join the festivities, with many designing elaborate costumes.

This year, rain threatened to dampen the spirit. As it turned out, nothing could keep the Seychellois from celebrating.

The Seychelles is made up of 155 islands and has a mere 90,000 inhabitants.

The Seychelles carnival has a very international focus, with participants flying in from five continents to join the festivities.

A lot of attention is paid to the parade floats -- 55 in total. Some folks spend days decorating their platforms.

Nearly half of the floats are international. In fact, this year, China stole the prize for best float.

Miss Seychelles leads the procession.

Costumes, music and food are the order of the day.

Of course, it wouldn't be carnival without a few scantily-clad to join the procession.

This year, the event attracted Chinese acrobats, Himalayan musicians, gold-plated Indonesian spectators and one American country singer.

"In the Seychelles, people come here and we forget our politics, we forget our religion, forget the color of skin," says the country's minister of tourism and culture.

HIDE CAPTION

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

The Seychelles gets colorful

<<

<

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

>

>>

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Seychelles holds an annual international carnival

This year, participants came from China, Indonesia and the United States

This year, more than 1,500 people took part

Every week, Inside Africa takes its viewers on a journey across Africa, exploring the true diversity and depth of different cultures, countries and regions.

Victoria, The Seychelles (CNN) -- The Seychelles is perhaps best known as a vacation destination; with its pristine blue waters and picture-perfect beaches, it's no wonder the smattering of islands (155 in total) off the coast of Madagascar has for generations wooed Hollywood's top brass.

As it happens, there's more to the island nation than just sun and sea. For four years, it has also played host to the Seychelles International Carnival, an international event which even in its infancy manages to attract over 1,500 participants from across the globe.

The carnival attracts a truly international crowd, with 26 out of the 55 parade floats run by foreign countries. This year, the event attracted Chinese acrobats, Himalayan musicians, gold-plated Indonesian spectators and one American country singer.

Carnival, Seychelles style

"It's called Carnival International, which means the world is coming together," says Alain St. Ainge, the country's minister of tourism and culture.

"Even the United Nations, when they meet, you find politics overtakes the important things of listening to each other. In the Seychelles, people come here and we forget our politics, we forget our religion, forget the color of skin."